AC20/19 Singapore to Vancouver Nonstop on Air Canada, and a Solar Eclipse in Montreal

[yflyer]

As the moment of totaltiy approached, the sky grew dramatically dark.



This was very different from the annular eclipse I experienced in Singapore a few years back.

In an annular eclipse, the moon was too far from the earth at that point in its orbit, and consequently too small fully obscure the sun's rays. For that eclipse in Singapore, the sky did dim just a little, but it was hardly noticeable.

But in Montreal today, the effects of the eclipse were dramatic. Like night and day. Literally.



Pictures and videos did not do justice to the phenomenon.

It literally turned dark as night, as if someone had flicked a light switch and turned day into night.



At the moment of totality, the crowd let out a huge cheer. (Video)

I had no photo to describe what we saw in the sky that day, but an acquaintance managed to snap a pic that showed what the sun looked during totality, which lasted just over a minute.


The sun was gone, in place of it a jet black orb surrounded by a thin white ring. It was only during this 90 second period that it was safe to look at the sun without glasses.

I was in awe. The atmosphere was indescribable.

I now understood why some people said that experiencing a total eclipse was a life-changing event.

And then the minute of totality was over. A sliver of crescent sun appeared, and slowly began to reclaim day from night.

Simply incredible.

The next total solar eclipse is due in 2026, visible from Greenland, western Iceland, and parts of northern Spain.

Sydney will get lucky in 4 years time, with a total solar eclipse due there in July 2028.

As for Singapore? We are out of luck. No total solar eclipse will be visible till at least after the year 2200...

[yflyer]

I spent the next few days in business meetings. It was a hectic work week, as I had my meetings in Montreal during the work day here, and then in the evenings, Asia was awake, which meant work calls with clients and colleagues in Asia, in the evening.

On the final day of my trip, after all work was done, I moved to a different hotel, the Hampton Inn by Hilton Montreal Downtown.



This modern highrise hotel was located next to Chinatown, and not far from the old town. I had actually run past it on my first day in Montreal, but because the signage was so small, I did not realize this was the Hampton Inn.

The lobby was large and spacious...



...with ample seating...



...and a restaurant area where a complimentary breakfast was served.



The breakfast comprised both hot and cold selections, including self-service waffle machines. Hot selections included bacon and scrambled, as well as boiled, eggs.



I didn't care too much for the scrambled eggs, which seemed to be a little powdery, but coffee, juice, and small helpings of the other breakfast selections were adequate to start the day.

There was also a well stocked hotel store where food, beverages and snacks could be purchased.

[yflyer]

My room was a spacious affair, complete with kitchenette.



The bedroom...



Large work desk and flat panel TV...



My room was a corner room...



...with nice city views...



The bathroom was between the kitchenette/entrance and the bedroom.



Long bathroom counter...



Large shower stall...



This was a comfortable hotel to spend my last night in Montreal.

[yflyer]

It was now my last full day in Montreal.

With work all done, there were just a couple of things left to do, including dinner at the iconic Montreal restaurant, Au Pied de Cochon.

But first, it was time for a long run.

At the Hampton Inn that afternoon, I changed into my PT kit, then headed outside.

I had a rough route in mind, planned with Google Maps: I would head out to the Jacques Cartier Bridge, cross it, then run to the Biosphere on St Helen's island, before taking the long route back via the Concorde Bridge and Ave Pierre Dupuy and the Lachine Canal.

I started out along Boulevard Rene-Levesque...



...and continued down St Catherine Street East...



...before making a left at Rue Dorion...



...towards the entrance of the cycling/pedestrian path for the Jacques Cartier Bridge...



This was an eminently runnable bridge.



The route was a popular one for cyclists as well as pedestrians...



The incline towards the top of the bridge was fairly gentle...



Guard rails on both sides prevented anyone from falling or climbing over the sides...



In the middle of the bridge, one was rewarded with spectacular views...



You were high above the St Lawrence River...



...with panoramic views of Montreal in the distance...



...as well as St Helen's Island...

[yflyer]

I paused at the St Helen's end of the bridge...



...to read the plaques commemorating the bridge's construction in 1930, and it's renaming in 1934 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Jacques Cartier's first voyage up the St Lawrence River.



On St Helen's Island, I ran through Parc Jean-Drapeau, first to the Tour de Levis, an abandoned water tower and reservoir.



I continued through the forest, with its trees still bare from winter...



...to the Biosphere, an environmental museum...



This geodesic dome was designed by reknown architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller, and was first built during the 1967 world's fair, where it served as the US Pavilion.

[yflyer]

From there, I headed across the Concorde Bridge...



...along Avenue Pierre Dupuy.



I passed a remarkable looking residential complex...



I sent a picture of this building to my nephew, who was pursuing an architecture degree.

"...this is the original Habitat..." he told me. This building was designed by reknown architect Moshe Safdie, which, like the Geodesic dome on St Helens Island, was built in 1967, as part of the World Expo.

This was an iconic building, much studied in the world of architecture. In fact Moshe Safdie's firm has built other Habitats in different countries, including one in Singapore, Sky Habitat.

I continued past the Canada Malting Company....



...to the Lachine Canal...



...and then finally along the waterfront...



...towards the Old Town.



What a wonderful 12km route!

[yflyer]

My final dinner in Montreal was at Au Pied de Cochon, a restaurant by well known Canadian chef Martin Picard.



Located along a quiet street a short Uber ride from downtown, the restaurant was packed, and very lively, when I arrived for my 9.30pm dinner reservation.



As a single diner, I took my seat at the bar counter overlooking the open kitchen...



This was a menu unlike any other, with a mouthwatering selection of foie gras preparations...



A glance around the restaurant indicated that the aged pork chop and duck in a can were popular mains, but as a single diner with a fairly small appetite, I decided that I would have to skip these classics this time round.



The menu had many references to PDC, which I deduced to be an acronym for the restaurant's name, which roughly translated to Pig's Foot.

The cocktail list looked very promising...



There was a decent selection of wines by the glass...

[yflyer]

I began with a Ginette, a cocktail made with Gin de Mononcle, spruce beer, maple syrup and lime gelee...



For my starter, I sampled the oysters with soy-cured egg yolk and pepper mignonette. The oysters came 2 to a portion, and were freshly shucked and garnished with the egg and mignonette only after I ordered them...they tasted intensely fresh!



It was great to be seated at the bar counter, observing the energetic and gregarious chefs at work. I was amazed at just how much foie gras this kitchen was going through over the course of the evening...

[yflyer]

For my main, I ordered the Foie Gras Poutine, one of PDC's iconic dishes.



At the start of the trip, my first meal in Montreal was Poutine. I would now end my trip with Poutine, except that this time it was the elevated, or atas, version (In Singapore parlance...), with generous slices of luscious creamy goose liver, taking this dish to a whole different level...



I paired the dish with an Italian Nebbiolo...



Amazingly, after polishing off all the Poutine, I still had space for dessert (Maybe it was because of the 12km run earlier that day...)...

I perused the dessert menu...



I decided on the Pouding Chomeur, or Maple Pudding Cake, which was a Quebecois classic.



I was tempted to order the version with cheddar and foie gras. Yes, even the desserts here came with foie gras (!)...

But good sense prevailed, and I went with the classic...

Yum....delicious...the maple syrup in this dish made all the difference, each mouthful was warm, and subtlely sweet in a way only achievable with the best maple syrup.

[yflyer]

I ended the meal with a PDC shooter...these were house-made shots made with gin and several other ingredients...




A shared toast with some of the other patrons at the bar, and the chef, to end the evening!



What a memorable meal, with great cuisine, staff and a wondeful vibe!

[yflyer]

The next day, I headed to Montreal Airport for my flight home...

My journey home began with AC311 YUL-YVR, a 6:05pm departure time, with scheduled arrival time in Vancouver at 8:23pm, and a flight time of roughly 5 hours.

It was a wet, drizzly afternoon when I arrived at Montreal Airport in the mid afternoon.

I had been very lucky with the weather during the week I was there. It had been bright and sunny all week, and unseasonally warm at between 11-18 degrees C.

Now, as I was leaving, the weather had turned wet, and a little colder.

Montreal Airport, as wonderful as it was, did not have a covered departure driveway. Thankfully, the rain had dwindled to just a minor drizzle as I got out of my Uber, so I managed to get into the terminal without getting too wet.

The check-in area was fairly empty when I arrived at 2.30pm. I noted that AC allowed Premium Economy pax to use the priority check-in lane.



I was able to check my luggage all the way through from Montreal to Singapore, and also received my onward YVR-SIN boarding pass.

"Oh! You're on the new Singapore service!", the cheerful customer service agent said, beaming, when she saw that SIN was my final destination.

After check-in, I was directed to the priority security line, which was a nice touch, and was in the airside area very quickly.

[yflyer]

The Montreal Airport airside area was full of shops and F&B.



I think, even without lounge access, I would have been able to eat and relax quite comfortably in one of these F&B outlets.

There seemed to be a lot of care and thought put into the facilities here, which extended to elaborately designed animal relief zones.



There were also these old-style Arcade machines, playable for free. If these trigger nostalgic memories, then I can guess what age group you below to...



Galaxians! I could have spent hours standing at the machine playing this game...

[yflyer]

I headed to the Maple Leaf Lounge in the domestic part of the terminal.



This was a medium sized lounge, and it was fairly busy that day.



There was a self service bar area in between the seating and dining areas. By airline lounge standards, the liquor selection was quite impressive.



Apart from vodka and 2 kinds of rum, there were several whiskies, 10 year old Port, white and red vermouth, and a selection of liqueurs.



They even had lychee liqueur...



...and condiments like Tabasco and Lea & Perrins, as well as salt to rim your glass.



Almost everything you needed to channel your inner mixologist!

Several red wines...



White wines (and beer)...



I poured myself a glass of the Charles Meunier sparkling white....

[yflyer]

There was a dining area with a self service buffet...



Minestone soup...



Salad bar...



...with lots of fresh greens...



Smoked meat sandwiches...



Hot selections included meat and potato curry and long grained rice...



...and penne pasta...



In all, a decent F&B selection, and airside views as a welcome bonus...

[yflyer]

There was also a large business center, set up as a separate room well away from the rest of the lounge.



This was a proper workspace, with desks and work cubicles.

I felt as if I had walked into an office. Folks here were doing real work.

There was a gentleman with a full 3-screen trading setup...



Others were running full blown meetings via videoconference, entirely audible to anyone in the area who cared to listen.

Some of the conversations were very interesting...

Thankfully this was a separate business center area, so folks in the seating/lounge zone would not be subject to this sonic barrage.